


To The Moon And Back

by Vox (Meislovely)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Mostly human AU, Probably a ton of fluff, learning about humanity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2018-11-06 23:39:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11046738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meislovely/pseuds/Vox
Summary: Pearl finds a woman on the side of the road that leads her and her roommate to many problems, realizations, and a bit of fun.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna be honest here, I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going with this story, or even how long it's gonna be.

Pearl’s car key nearly slipped out of her hand as she jammed it into the ignition, muttering under her breath. Bruised and a little burnt, she let her head fall back against the seat, heaving a long, tired sigh.

An awful week just  _ had _ to be ended with an awful day. She’d spent most of the week helping her crew put together a new cockpit, then the damn thing  _ exploded _ one hour away from the the end of her shift. Damage control took a lot more than an hour. If she didn’t love the job so much, she would’ve left years ago.

So, covered in ash and soot and missing a little bit of her bangs, She drove out of the parking lot well past midnight.

Though, there was some consolation. It was beautiful at night, this far from the city. Her head tilted awkwardly to get a good eyeful of the bright stars. Constellations seemed to reach towards the road behind her, away from the city. A small smile split her face. Hopefully, she’d be among them someday.

Her eyes caught on a figure standing on the side of the road, distracting her from the night sky. It was a woman, facing the empty field on the side of the road with her hands clasped in front of her. Pearl’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion. What in the world was someone doing all the way out here?

After a brief internal debate, she slowed to a stop and rolled down her window. “Are you okay?”

She had the sudden urge to smack herself upside the head.  _ Of course _ she wasn’t okay. She was out in the middle of nowhere well past a reasonable hour. The woman looked at her, or, Pearl thought she did. Her long blue bangs covered her eyes and, the more Pearl looked, the more her frown grew. She was positively  _ blue _ . How long had she been out here? The Autumn here was particularly cold and her outfit -other than some strange necklace- reminded her of the girls she took ballet with more than suitable clothing and-  _ she wasn’t even wearing shoes?! _

“Oh,  _ goodness! _ ” She squawked, thrusting the door open and rushing out. Pearl pulled off her jacket, throwing it over the poor girl’s shoulders. “Come on, I’ll take you home.” She took another look at her skin, “Or a hospital.”

The woman followed quietly as Pearl walked around the car and opened the door, gesturing to the seat as she quickly pulled a blanket out of the trunk to bundle around her. The woman’s head tilted down towards the blanket, mouth still set in a neutral line. 

Pearl hurried over to the driver’s seat, cranking up the heater and taking off towards the nearest hospital. It was nearly 45 minutes away, but with a heavy foot on the gas pedal, she managed to cut that time in half. Her eyes cut to the woman in her passenger seat often, stress rising with every glance. She hadn’t said a word this entire time. Hopefully she wasn’t in shock.

Finally, she pulled into the hospital parking lot, frowning at how crowded it was. Pearl looked over at her. “Would you like me to go in with you?”

She frowned for a moment, opened her mouth, then closed it. Her head turned towards Pearl and tilted slightly. Pearl’s worry clicked up a few notches and she got out, trotting over to the other side and opening the door. She opened her mouth to ask if she could walk, but remembered that she  _ wasn’t wearing shoes _ for whatever reason. Pearl couldn’t let her walk around barefoot, who knew what was on the ground here.

“Is it okay to pick you up?”

Her mouth twisted oddly, but she gave Pearl a slow nod.

Gently, Pearl slid her arms under her legs and behind her back and lifted her out of the car, blanket and all. A sigh of relief escaped when she found that the woman wasn’t heavy at all. Then it immediately turned to worry again.

“Have you been eating enough?” She asked, starting towards the hospital at a fast walk.

The woman cocked her head up at her, frowning.“...Eating?” He voice was nearly drowned out by the sounds in the parking lot, airy and sounding like it took so much effort to form that one word.

That set off a whole  _ new _ set of warning flags in her head and her pace sped to a jog. Pearl pushed open the door with her shoulder, back going stiff at the sight of the crowded waiting room. 

The nurse behind the counter looked up at her with tired eyes as she walked up, having to brush some of her dark blue hair out of her face. That seemed to be a new trend. “How can I help you?”

“I found this woman in the middle of nowhere and I think she may be suffering from hypothermia.”

The nurse nodded quickly, fingers flying across her keyboard for a moment. “How urgent would you say her condition is?”

Pearl sputtered for a moment eyebrows knitting together, “She’s blue!”

The nurse looked up again and blinked her bloodshot eyes slowly. “So she is. Come with me please.”

She picked up a clipboard and came out from behind the counter, motioning for Pearl to follow her down a hallway. After a while she stopped in front of a door, scrawling on the clipboard. “Can she walk?”

Pearl looked down at the expressionless girl, feeling heat rush to her cheeks. She probably should’ve put her down when they got inside. She let her down gently, thick blanket still draped over her shoulders.

“Please come with me miss.” The nurse said, leading the woman into the examination room.

Pearl looked around, finding a chair next to the door and falling into it with a sigh. Luckily this part of the hospital wasn’t as crowded. She let her head rest against the wall, closing her burning eyes and letting out a yawn. Her muscles were already aching with the fatigue of the day. At least tomorrow was saturday.

Pearl was starting to doze off when the door burst open, making her jolt in her seat. The nurse came out, clipboard clutched to her chest and eyes wide as she closed the door behind her. Pearl’s stomach dropped at the panicked expression and she stood up quickly, fatigue fading in an instant. 

“Is she alright?”

“Y-Yeah. She’s fine.” She said, unconvincingly, “I just, uh, I need to get a doctor.”

Without another word, she started down the hall at a fast walk that quickly broke into a jog before she rounded the corner.

Should she have gotten here faster? She’d heard that a few minutes could often be the difference between life and death, surely she could’ve run a red light or two. Pearl’s hands gripped each other near her stomach, clasping and unclasping in an effort to quell her building anxiety.

She forced herself to sit back down, taking a few deep breaths to stop her heart from pounding. She wasn’t completely sure how hospitals worked (She did her absolute best to not end up in one) but if the woman were dying, there’d be a lot more commotion, right?

“Hello Pearl.” Her head snapped up to see a familiar face looking down at a clipboard. “I heard you made a new friend.”

“Sapphire!” Pearl stood quickly, her anxiety halved already by her calming presence. 

When she had first met her, Pearl was put off by how calm she was. It didn’t help that all the other kids spread rumors that she was some sort of witch. But as the years wore on, Garnet’s house had become something of a safe haven for her and their other friend, Amethyst. Pearl became a lot closer to Garnet’s mothers than she did her own parents. Seeing Sapphire was a relief.

“Do you know if she’s okay?”

“She seems to be stable. Are you her friend?”

Pearl shook her head. “She was just staring at the sky on the side of the road near my work. And she was blue and -  _ goodness _ \- she wasn’t even wearing  _ shoes _ -”

Sapphire put a hand on her shoulder, having to reach up a ways with her short stature. “It’s okay, Pearl. I’m sure she’ll be fine. I’ll go and conduct a more thorough examination and see if I can’t get you out of here, okay?”

Pearl nodded, shoulders relaxing as Sapphire stepped passed and into the room. It took almost an hour -made to feel longer by her constant glances at the clock- before Sapphire came out of the room, the woman following quietly. Sapphires gaze stayed glued to her clipboard and her voice sounded a bit distant. “She’s doing fine.”

Pearl looked a bit closer at her. She looked exactly the same as she did when they came in. “She’s… still blue.”

“I believe that’s her natural skin tone.”

Heat flooded Pearl’s cheeks and she clasped a hand over her mouth. The woman must think that she was completely insensitive. “I am so sorry, I-I meant no offense.” She murmured, pushing away the urge to cover her eyes. The woman simply cocked her head again, mouth twisting.

“Her temperature was definitely low, but it’s back up now. As long as she stays dry and warm, she should be alright.” After a long pause, she finally looked up, a wide smile on her face. “You can go home whenever you’d like, though I’d be happy if you gave her a ride.”

“Of course!”

“And please make sure you’re safe out there. You look absolutely exhausted and it’s not good to be driving in that state.”

Pearl’s cheeks heated further at the light scolding. “I’ll be safe.”

“Good. I’ll send Garnet over to check on you tomorrow, just to be sure.”

Pearl scratched the back of her head. Even though she was 25, Sapphire was still trying to mother her. “I’m an adult Sapphire, I can take care of myself.”

“I know, but you know how I worry.” She said. Sapphire took the paper off of the clipboard, crumpling it up and throwing it in a nearby garbage can before she wrapped her small arms around Pearl, giving her a gentle squeeze. “I hope the next time you visit isn’t in the hospital.”

Pearl chuckled and squeezed her back, a small smile on her face. “I’ll make sure to visit soon.”

“Good. Now get home before you end up passing out and having to stay here anyways.”

“Thank you, Sapphire.” She said, looking back at the blue woman. “Can she have some shoes before we go?

Armed with ‘slippers’ -that looked more like thick socks, in Pearl’s opinion- they made it out to the car. Pearl took a moment to relax, letting her nerves settle for a moment. Hospitals and crowds were never her forte. Mixing them was even worse.

“Where do you live?” Pearl asked, finally starting up the car.

She frowned, opened her mouth, closed it and made a distressed noise. Her hands came up to hold each other near her chest, shoulders hunching slightly. “Nowhere?”

“You don’t have anywhere to live?” Pearl asked softly, a pang going through her heart.

The woman shook her head, her legs coming up to press against her chest.

Pearl sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. This is something she needed to figure out, but the tired buzzing in her head thought otherwise. “You can stay at my place tonight and we’ll figure something out in the morning.” She finally decided, pulling out of the parking lot.

The drive home was much calmer than the drive to the hospital, now that she wasn’t in a panic. She had another chance to appreciate the night sky, even as she saw a hint of light on the horizon.

Pearl led her into the house, doing her best not to drag her feet. “You can lie on the couch tonight, let me get you a pillow.”

When she came back, the woman lay on the couch, still bundled in the blanket and with her hands clasped over her chest in a way that reminded Pearl -a little uncomfortably- of a corpse. She handed her the pillow, a little relieved when she held that to her chest instead. 

“Goodnight.” Pearl murmured, quietly relieved that she could finally get some sleep. She really could’ve used a shower or something to eat, but her feet brought her directly to her bed. As she crawled up and collapsed face down, already drifting off, she thought maybe she should’ve asked her name. Or at least told her roommate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mostly slice-of-life chapter that nobody asked for (but I wanted to write anyways.) Criticism or thoughts are appreciated.

The sudden screeching of an alarm clock jolted Yellow from her sleep. She groaned, pulling the blankets up over her head and swatting it with maybe a little more force than necessary until it finally shut up.

She kept her eyes closed, only becoming more and more irate as she realized that she wasn’t getting back to sleep anytime soon. Yellow pulled the covers down, leveling a glare at her clock. She could’ve sworn she turned it off, but here she was. Awake at 6 a.m. on her only day off this week. Fantastic.

The carpet was pleasantly chilly on her bare feet as she got up to get dressed. With a last longing look at her bed, she shuffled her way down the hall and into the living room.

The first thing her bleary eyes landed on were the keys on the hook next to the door. At least Pearl had made it home alright. Yellow wouldn’t be surprised if she worked herself to death someday. She wasn’t looking forward to having to find a new roommate.

She eventually made her way to the kitchen and started up the coffee maker. Yellow wasn’t awake enough to remember whose turn it was to make breakfast this time. Meals were touch and go on weekdays, but a sort of habit formed on the weekends, alternating who would make breakfast. When had Pearl returned last night? Yellow stayed up a later than usual, but even when she went to sleep, there was no sign of her roommate. Maybe she’d make breakfast today, regardless of whose turn it was. Pearl would just have to owe her one.

The coffee maker let out a low beep, reeling her thoughts back in. Coffee first, breakfast later.

Yellow poured herself a cup with a splash of cream, taking a sip and letting out a soft sigh. She knew that -logically- the caffeine would take a while to have any effect, but the first sip always improved her mood by half.

She wandered into the living room, setting her mug on the table and picking up the remote to turn on the news. Nobody would be able to save her if her boss found out she hadn’t checked the stocks, and while she could check them on an app on her phone, there was something relaxing about seeing it on the news when she was up early enough.

Finally she set it down next to her mug and collapsed back onto the couch-

and let out a startled shriek, launching herself off the couch and onto the floor. Her eyes snapped to the couch as she scrambled back. A woman laid there clutching a pillow to her chest, completely still despite just being sat on. Yellow’s breath sped up to the very edge of hyperventilation and she pressed herself against the wall.

“Pearl!” She called, voice panicked.

The woman turned her head towards her and she scrunched further against the wall. She was relatively fragile looking and- and _blue_ , but panic was hard to reason with.

It took only a few seconds for Pearl’s door to burst open and her roommate to stumble out, a sword in hand and still wearing her work clothes. Yellow suddenly regretted ever criticising Pearl for keeping a sword next to her bed.

“What? What is it?” Pearl slurred, half-open eyes darting around the room.

Yellow pointed a shaky finger at the woman on the couch.

“Oh.”

Her gaze snapped to Pearl, incredulous. “What do you mean ‘oh’!? There is a strange woman in our house!”

“I found her and brought her home last night.” She said, lowering her blade.

“Found her?” She could already feel a headache coming on. “You don’t just find people and take them. That’s called kidnapping, Pearl!”

“I didn’t kidnap her!” Pearl snapped, “I saw her on the side of the road and thought she might’ve had hypothermia -I’m very sorry about that mistake, by the way.” She said to the motionless woman, “When we got out of the hospital, she didn’t have anywhere to go, so I brought her here.”

Yellow pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. That explained why it took her so long to get home, and why she was still in her work clothes. Leave it to Pearl to bring home random strangers. At least she didn’t _seem_ like a serial killer.

She sighed, forcing some of the tension out of her muscles. “Okay, okay. Go shower, you smell like a burned down rubber factory, and get some more sleep. We’ll talk about this when you’re more lucid.”

Pearl hummed in agreement, turning to shuffle into the bathroom. When she heard the shower start, she pushed herself to her feet, eyeing the girl suspiciously for a moment. “You want some coffee?”

The woman’s head tilted, mouth twisting. Yellow decided to take that as a yes. “There’d better be room for me on that couch when I get back.”

When she returned, the woman was sitting in one corner of the couch, legs folded under her. She handed her the blue mug, sitting in the other corner with her own. "I figured blue was your favorite." Yellow said, motioning to the woman's hair. She tipped her head down, bringing the mug close to her covered eyes and Yellow turned back towards the tv, scanning and memorizing the numbers on the screen.

When the reporter went back to regular news -some guy claiming he saw a UFO or something, Yellow didn’t care enough to pay attention- she turned to the blue woman again. “So, what’s your story?”

The woman’s head snapped up from her coffee, mouth twisting in what Yellow was tentatively calling confusion.

“You know, your name, where you’re from?” She tried.

“I am Blue Diamond’s Pearl, from Homeworld.”

Yellow blinked, eyes narrowing for a moment. It sounded like she came from money -she was certainly dressed the part- but people with money didn't usually find themselves suddenly homeless. And she'd certainly never heard of Homeworld. Maybe she was foreign? "That's kind of a mouthful. Can I just call you Blue?"

She got a slow nod and Yellow relaxed a bit more. "Good. Call me Yellow."

The conversation lulled, but Yellow paid it no mind. The sun had started peaking through the blinds as it got higher, falling across the carpet in long orange lines. Would it be too upsetting to ask why she was homeless? She usually didn't care much for tact when she wasn't at work, but she didn't want to make the poor girl feel worse about her situation. She stuck to something that seemed a bit safer.

"Where did you get that necklace? It's pretty." A little too big to be modest, but not flashy enough to be gaudy. Tasteful, in Yellow's opinion.

Blue's hand came up to touch her neck, that same confused look coming over her face again. "Necklace?"

Yellow motioned towards her collarbone, and the blue hand trailed down to touch the gem there. "This is my Gem. The core of my being."

Yellow blinked, unsure how to respond to that. Her eyebrows knit together for a moment. "So... it’s a family heirloom?”

“Family?”

Definitely foreign. Though, she didn’t have any accent that Yellow could notice other than being very quiet. “People you’re related to. Like a mother or father, or siblings.”

Blue paused for a moment, but slowly shook her head. “I don’t have those.”

Yellow winced. So much for a safe topic.

“I know how that is.” She murmured, taking an anxious sip of her coffee.

She grabbed the remote, flipping through the channels for something decent to watch. Unless you counted a slew of cartoons and daytime talk shows, she seemed to be out of luck. She stopped on a random channel, heaving a sigh as she closed her eyes for a moment.

Yellow really wasn’t interested in watching anything, but she knew that if she tried to do something productive on her day off she’d be burnt out by Wednesday. She never was any good at relaxing, but it was necessary.

She opened her mouth to ask Blue if she had any requests, but closed it when she saw her focused intensely on the TV. A glance revealed that it was turned to some cartoon with a multicolored cat in a flying saucer. The vague memory of Pearl’s godson -Steven- ranting about it came to mind and she relaxed back against the couch. It wasn’t like there was anything better on.

It turned out to be… pretty interesting, actually. It was halfway through an episode and halfway through the series, but Yellow was entertained by the space cat -who, she had learned, was made of _ice cream_ \- and his struggle to work at a grocery store after being exiled from his planet. It was definitely odd, but charming.

At least until her eyes wandered up to the clock above the tv. She sat up with a jolt. It was nearly _noon_ . Yellow ran a hand through her hair and frowned at the tv, wondering how she’d lost track of time so easily. She _never_ lost track of time. No wonder kids were so fascinated with this cartoon.

She stood up, taking a moment to stretch before turning towards the kitchen. “Do you want to help me with breakfast?”

Before she could even blink, Blue was off the couch and standing next to her, hands clasped over her necklace (gem? Heirloom?) She flinched a little at the enthusiasm, but led the way to the kitchen.

Like relaxing, cooking was not a strong point for Yellow. Her skills hit a hard wall at most things that didn’t include a microwave. Unfortunately, Pearl would never accept a hot pocket for breakfast, so she rifled through the pantry and fridge. They were nearly barren. She made a mental note to go shopping, but a small half-empty bag of pancake mix caught her eye.

Delicious, filling, and easy to prepare. Perfect. Luckily, it only needed water. After measuring it out, she nudged the bowl towards Blue. “Will you whisk this while I get the pan ready?”

“...Whisk?”

“Yeah, take this,” She placed the whisk in Blue’s hand, “And stir it up really fast.” She explained, a bit relieved that she wasn’t the only one with limited cooking experience.

Almost as soon as she turned away, she felt something wet and sticky splash across her back.

Slowly, Yellow turned around, eyes wide. Blue stood frozen, whisk in one hand and bowl in the other. Her mouth hung open, horrified, and half-mixed batter was streaked across her chest and splattered across the walls like a gooey pancake crime scene.

"...How?"

"I-I'm sorry." She said quickly, dropping into a bow.

"It's alright." Yellow sighed, grabbing a rag.

It didn’t take long to clean -Blue turned out to be much better at cleaning than cooking. Against her better judgement, she tried again. She whisked the batter herself this time, eyeing Blue out of the corner of her eye. There wasn’t much to do, but she’d seemed so eager to help out. After a moment of thought, she handed the bowl to Blue.

“Hold onto this while I get the rest ready.”

“Do I need to whisk-?”

“No! Don’t whisk it, just, um, keep it safe.”

Blue nodded, giving Yellow a small smile. With a quiet sigh of relief, she got out the pan and cooking spray. When it was properly heated and sprayed down, she turned back to Blue… whose hands were clasped in front of her chest.

Yellow blinked, eyes darting around the kitchen. “Blue?”

“Yes?”

Yellow turned, looking at the other counter. “Where is the batter?”

“Here.”

She looked back at Blue, her face scrunching when she saw the bowl held between blue hands. Either she was going mad, or Blue was some kind of magician. She filed away the many questions she had for after breakfast.

Other than a couple of burnt pancakes, the rest of the process was free of incidents. Yellow served up three plates and placed a bottle of syrup on the counter, sliding one of the plates towards Blue. “You can have this one.”

With that, she tread quickly down the hall, giving Pearl’s door three loud knocks.

“Pearl, get up.”

Her only answer was a muffled, aggravated groan.

“I made food.”

A less irate groan,this time.

“Be quick, it’ll get cold soon.”

Pearl’s groan was punctuated with a few dull thumps and Yellow left her to get herself together. When she came back and sat at the counter -foregoing the syrup and eating her pancakes plain-, Blue stood in the same spot, though her plate was gone. A small pang of guilt tugged at her heart, she must’ve been hungrier than she let on. Though, it was nice of her to clean up her plate.

“What’s on your back?”

Yellow jolted and twisted in her seat, relaxing when she saw Pearl inspecting the sticky mess she had forgotten. “There was an… _incident_ with the pancakes.”

Pearl’s eyebrows scrunched, but -to Yellow’s relief- she didn’t ask any questions. The relief was short lived, replaced by a cringe as Pearl _drowned_ her pancakes in syrup. There were few unhealthy things that Pearl enjoyed, and unholy amounts of strawberry syrup happened to be one of them.

“Thank you for making breakfast.” Pearl said after a moment, shooting Yellow a wide smile.

Yellow looked away, cursing the awkward stumble of her heart. “It’s no problem. Blue helped.”

“Blue?” Pearl asked, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Yellow put her hands up, “I’m not being mean, it’s part of her name.”

“Oh, it is?”

“You… didn’t ask her name.” It wasn’t so much a question as it was an exasperated statement.

A bright blush bloomed across Pearl’s face and she looked down at her pancakes. “I was very tired, Yellow.”

Yellow sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day, taking a sip from the coffee she’d forgotten in all the chaos that was making breakfast. Her face scrunched. It was cold.

Pearl hummed, eyeing the cup. “Is there any more coffee?”

Yellow frowned, “No. I gave the last cup to Blue.”

She glanced over to Blue. It made Yellow nervous, how quiet and still she was. At least, she was until she stretch her open hands towards Pearl.

Both Pearl and Yellow stared at them for a moment, eyebrows knit together. Yellow opened her mouth to ask, but a dim glow from the gem on her collarbone had her teeth clacking together. The blue mug of coffee just… _came into existence_ , still steaming, and settled into Blue’s hands.

With a small smile, Blue set it gently  in front of Pearl.


	3. Chapter 3

Blue’s smile, along with the soft warmth in her chest, started to fade. Why were they looking at her like that? She had finally been able to do something useful and they just looked… upset.

These two were so strange. They didn’t have the stature of anyone high ranking, but Yellow walked around with the authority of an Agate and Pearl didn’t  _ act _ like a pearl at all. She operated vehicles and wielded a  _ sword _ . Worst of all, she couldn’t figure out what either of them wanted.

If she couldn’t figure out what they wanted, how was she supposed to be of any use? Blue Diamond hadn’t shattered her when she left, but these two still could. Even when she finally found something she could do, they just  _ stared _ .

“Blue?”

Blue’s eyes snapped to Pearl, face carefully neutral.

“How did you do that?” Pearl asked slowly, looking into the mug of coffee.

She pointed a hesitant finger to her gem, not trusting her voice.

“Your… Gem?” Yellow asked.

Blue nodded.

“You’re not human, are you?”

Blue shook her head, afraid to even breath. Had they not heard of gems? Her kind permeated the universe, far and wide. It had been a few thousand years since the gems left earth, had they already forgotten? So much had happened here.

“I am a gem. Blue Diamond’s Pearl.” 

Pearl stuttered a couple of half formed words before her mouth clacked shut, her eyes wide.

“Okay. Right.” Yellow murmured, rubbing at her temples with shaky hands. “What exactly is a gem?”

Blue frowned. She had only ever been around other gems and they never needed an explanation. They were all made knowing what they were and what they were supposed to do. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know much about humans except that they were organic and inexplicably warm. She had no idea how to explain what she was. Blue tried anyways.

“Gems are not organic.” She started, focusing on the main difference. “Our bodies are composed of hard light projections. These,” Blue gestured to her gem, “Are the entirety of our beings.”

“And… you can keep things in them?” Pearl asked, rigid body starting to relax.

“Only pearl’s have storage capabilities- but I can do many other things.” She assured quickly, her hands tightening around each other. With a very small amount of effort, her gem emitted a soft glow and projected an image into the air between them. It was a simple picture, the animal she saw on the screen earlier.

Yellow let out a high pitched shriek, stumbling out of her seat and away from the counter as Pearl simply stared, mouth open. Blue felt a cold squeeze in her chest and quickly dispelled the projection, taking a step back. Trying to impress them only seemed to make it worse.

“Y-You’ve just been here and nobody noticed? If gems lived here, wouldn’t someone have found out by now?” Pearl babbled quickly, hand grasping at the air where the projection had been.

“I’m from Homeworld.” Blue blurted out. Her lips pressed into a thin line and she scolded herself. She’d been in worse situations. She’d come close to being shattered on  _ multiple _ occasions! She should be able to keep her composure through a conversation with some humans.

“Where exactly  _ is _ homeworld?”

She had to stop herself from projecting a map, that hadn’t gone so well last time. Instead, she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to pin where this planet was. Gems were a planet conquering race by nature, and it gave her the advantage of orienting herself and understanding where she was in the universe.

Her eyes opened behind her bangs, “Homeworld is one thousand, two hundred, and eighty three light years past the star Sol.”

“What?” Yellow asked, slowly making her way back to the counter. Pearl slapped her hands over her mouth, wide eyes beaming at Blue.

Blue pointed towards the ceiling, where the star was. “There.” 

“You’re an alien!?”

“To this planet, yes.”

Yellow held her head in her hands, groaning as if she were in pain. Blue wanted to reach a concerned hand out, but thought better of it and kept them clasped tightly against her chest. 

Yellow eventually lifted her head to glance at Pearl, doing a double take, and promptly hissing, “Pearl, you wipe that look off your face right now!”

Pearl’s starry eyes turned to her and Yellow sputtered, her face changing color. She grabbed one of Pearl’s hands, pulling her out of the room with a “We need to talk!” thrown over her shoulder.

Then, suddenly, Blue was alone.

They were deciding what to do with her, she realized. The cold feeling in her chest spread rapidly to every inch of her form.

They were going to shatter her. Her days in the court assured her of that. And even if she convinced them not to, where would she go? Back to waiting for her diamond? Blue doubted she would come back for her, and being shattered was starting to sound better than the endless  _ waiting _ .

She couldn’t help but remember the countless, ownerless pearls that came before the court, pleading their usefulness after their owners were lost or shattered and they had nothing left to lose. Blue never thought that she’d be one of them. She hoped her fate turned out better than theirs.

Blue steeled herself.

When the two humans emerged from the room, Blue quickly dropped into a low bow. Fear prickled at the back of her neck, but she forced her voice out, wincing when it stuttered and rasped. “I-I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.”

They came to an abrupt halt, but Blue didn’t raise her head. “I know that it doesn’t look like it, b-but I can be of some use.” She nearly bit her tongue at that. What could they possibly want from her? All she had done so far was upset and burden them.  “Please just- just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. I-I can-”

A firm, warm hand grasped her shoulder and brought her pitiful begging to a stop. She stiffened and went completely still, eyes burning. Why did she think she could reason with them? She hadn’t become the oldest pearl in existence with  _ stupid _ mistakes like this,  _ what was wrong with her- _

“Blue, We’re not kicking you out.”

Blue’s head snapped up to see Pearl crouched next to her. She seemed… sincere. Slowly, Blue’s gaze drifted to Yellow. She wasn’t quite sure which was in charge, but Yellow had seemed the most upset by her presence.

Yellow crossed her arms, shrugging. “If you don’t have anywhere to go, you can stay here. We can’t just toss you out on the street.”

The burning in her eyes only grew and she blinked rapidly, dispelling the tears that had tried to gather. Relief made her entire body want to sag and the warmth returned to her chest, deeper and fuller than before. Her hands fluttered briefly, unsure of how to express this sudden, intense feeling. Her voice fought her, but it was so much easier to get out this time. “Thank you.”

Pearl’s mouth widened into a bright smile. “Honestly, it’s our pleasure! I’ve never met anyone from a different planet! What is it like on Homeworld?”

“Pearl, give her some time to settle before you interrogate her.” Yellow said, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Pearl’s face turned a brilliant shade of pink and she retracted her hand from Blue’s shoulder, standing up. Blue fought back a frown; the warmth had been rather nice.

Pearl cleared her throat, hands clasping in front of her, “Sorry about that. How about we get you settled in?”

Blue wasn’t sure what that meant, but nodded anyways. Unfortunately, she didn’t get to find out. As Pearl turned away, a loud knock on the door had her whirling back around, face pale.

“Oh my god,” Pearl wheezed, hands gripping at her strawberry blonde hair, “It’s the CIA! They’re here for us already!”

“It’s not the CIA.” Yellow sighed, walking over to the door and looking through a small hole. “It’s just Garnet and Amethyst.”

“That’s even worse!” Pearl half-wailed, half-whispered, eyes darting around as if she meant to hide.

“What? Why?” Yellow asked, trying to unlock the door before Pearl lept over to stop her. The knock came again, louder this time. A buzz of anxiety started in Blue’s chest.

“Garnet’s a cop!” Pearl said, pressing her back to the door, “I couldn’t make her choose between me and her career!”

“What are you talking about?”

“It is illegal to come into contact with any extraterrestrials or their vehicles! Who knows how much worse it’ll be if they find out she  _ lives _ with us.”

Yellow paled to match Pearl. “Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

Blue wasn’t entirely sure that human law and gem law were the same, but she was incredibly wary. They had already done so much for her -despite their laws, she didn’t want them to be executed. “What should I do?”

“Should we hide her?” Yellow asked, eyes wide.

Pearl took a deep breath and shook her head. “No. If they find her, we’d just have even more questions to answer.” She looked to Blue, “Just… don’t do anything with your gem and it should be fine. And, uh, try to act human?”

Blue nodded quickly. She was unsure of what to do besides heating up her form, but was determined to do her best.

The next knock was interrupted by Pearl pulling the door open, “Hello!”

A short woman stood on the other side, one hand up to knock again and the other behind her back. A much taller woman stood beside her.

“Hey, P! Long time, no see.”

Pearl’s shoulders relaxed and Blue craned her head a bit to get a better view of the pair. The taller woman’s face turned in her direction and Blue froze. She couldn’t see where she was looking under that visor, but she hoped it wasn’t at her.

“It has been quite a while, hasn’t it?” Pearl hummed, “What brings you two over?”

“Mum sent me to check up on you. Said you were half asleep at the hospital this morning. Amethyst tagged along.” The tall woman said, voice smooth and low. It made Blue nervous.

The small woman grinned widely, “So we figured, since we’re coming over, why don’t we hang out? We brought snacks!” She pulled the hand out from behind her back, holding up a crinkly bag.

Pearl pressed her fingers together, humming. Her eyes flicked to Blue for a moment before looking at the floor.

“C’mon P,” She nudged Pearl a little, “How long’s it been since you took a break? We can just watch some movies. I even got your weird healthy snacks and Yellow’s bitter abominations.”

“They’re not abominations.” Yellow huffed, stepping over, “Just because everything you eat is covered in sugar and salt doesn’t mean anything bitter is awful.”

Pearl’s eyes flitted to Blue again, lip trapped between teeth. Blue was unsure of what she wanted, so gave her a small smile.

“Alright. It couldn’t hurt to have a movie night. I get to pick though.”

“No way!” Yellow gasped. “Last time you picked, we only watched old musicals.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Pearl shot back, a small smirk on her face. “Besides, musicals are  _ leagues _ better than those dramas you force us to endure.”

Blue watched the two bicker, a little nervous. Usually arguments could escalate rather quickly, but neither of them seemed particularly upset. It was confusing. 

Her form nearly dispersed when the tall woman made her presence known beside her with a quiet clearing of her throat. Blue usually prided herself on her observation and awareness; today was just full of mistakes.

“Hello.” The woman said.

Blue blinked behind her bangs, “Hello.”

“You must be the woman Pearl brought to the hospital.”

Blue nodded, eyeing the shorter woman as she ambled over. “So you’re the one. I like your skirt, you got balls to wear something like that this close to winter.”

A  _ flurry _ of questions filled her head, but she registered a compliment somewhere and gave a small, “Thank you.”

“I’m Amethyst. Nice to meet you.” She said, extending her hand.

Blue looked at it for a moment, mind racing. What did that mean? What did she want her to do? Her mouth pressed into a tight line. Just act human. She mimicked the motion, holding her hand out. “I’m Blue. Nice to meet you.”

Amethyst grasped her hand firmly, moving it up and down before releasing her. How strange. Maybe it was like a dance?  _ That _ was something she was good at. With her newfound confidence, she turned to the tall woman and thrust her hand out. “I’m Blue. Nice to meet you.”

The woman’s stoic face lightened considerably as a small smile made a home there. She did the same dance that Amethyst had, nodding. “I’m Garnet. Nice to meet you too.”

Blue had to hold back a wide smile, she was doing good so far… now what? Garnet’s face had gone back to neutral, though it felt a lot less intimidating now. Amethyst, however, was looking at her expectantly. She didn’t know  _ what _ she expected.

“So… what’s your story?”

She remembered Yellow asking that question, but saying that she was from homeworld was distinctly not human. She floundered for something to say, but Amethyst spoke up again. “It’s okay if you don’t wanna say. We all got some stuff we’d rather leave behind.”

Blue’s shoulders relaxed and she nodded, thankful for the way out. She was not programmed to lie and found it incredibly hard when she tried.

Pearl’s gaze caught her from the other side of the room, eyes widening. She rushed over, a stiff smile plastered over her face. “I see you’ve met Blue.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool. Did you guys pick a movie?”

Pearl’s smile relaxed a bit. “We came to a compromise.”

Cool? Blue made a note to heat up her form some more as she was ushered towards the screen with everyone else.

There wasn’t nearly enough room on the couch for everyone. Blue tried to sit on the floor, but was given a corner seat by virtue of being a ‘guest’. There was a small scuffle between Amethyst and Garnet over the other corner, but Garnet came out victorious and Amethyst took the middle. Pearl sat elegantly on the floor near Blue, giving her a small smile. And, after doing something with the small box under the screen, Yellow settled down next to Pearl with her legs stretched out in front of her.

The screen flicked on and promptly put Blue through one of the most confusing experiences of her life. She understood that the beings on the screen were human. At least,  _ some  _ of them were. They fought with swords and jumped around, speaking loudly and pressing their faces together.

Blue’s eyes wandered from the screen, taking in those around her. They all seemed to be enraptured by the story. Amethyst caught her looking and held a crinkly bag towards her. She took one of the flat discs out cautiously. Amethyst smiled at her and turned back to the movie, shoving a handful of them into her mouth.

So they were food? Blue wasn’t sure why they had to have so many different things to consume and made a note to ask Pearl and Yellow about it later. She was tempted to put it in her gem, but reminded herself that using her gem was another not-human thing, so she simply held it in her hands.

As Yellow kept putting stories on the screen, a certain heaviness seemed to fall over everyone. They started to sag and slump all around her, eyes closing and muscles going slack. Blue’s form prickled anxiously. What was wrong with them?

The last story ended and Yellow didn’t get up to change it. Everyone was eerily silent, breathing the only sound in the room. Was this some sort of ritual? Were they dying? She knew that organic beings eventually died, but she wasn’t sure when or how. Would they even know if they were?

Blue reached a nervous, hesitant hand towards Pearl and laid it on her arm. All of her muscles tensed as Pearl jolted and she yanked her hand back quickly. Pearl looked around, eyes only half open. “What? What is it?”

“Are you dying?” Blue asked fearfully.

“Um, no? I don’t think so.”

“What are you doing?”

Pearl blinked a couple of times, rubbing her eyes. “I think I fell asleep.” At Blue’s blank look, she asked, “You don’t know what sleeping is?”

Blue shook her head.

“Ah, well, humans need sleep to function properly. We close our eyes and lose consciousness for around six to eight hours.” She paused for a moment, “You don’t need to sleep, do you?”

Blue shook her head again.

“Hm, alright.” She leaned over to swipe something out of Yellow’s limp grasp and pointed it the screen. After a second, the video flickered to a different one and Pearl handed it over to Blue. “The buttons on this change the channel. I’m afraid I don’t have much else to keep you occupied.”

Blue pressed one experimentally, blinking when it switched again. “Which channel should I change it to.”

Pearl shrugged, standing and stretching. “Whatever you want.” With that, she made her way into the hall.

Blue frowned. Yet another confusing thing. They kept bringing up  _ want _ . She knew what it was. Blue wanted a lot of things. She wanted to continue existing. She wanted her Diamond to come back for her. She wanted to put down the small disc that Amethyst gave her, but didn’t know where the bag was. But those were simple. Nobody had actually addressed  _ her _ with the term. She wanted things, but the thought of expressing that made a cold shiver of fear run down her back. Pearls weren’t supposed to want.

But… this was Earth. The only other pearl she met had been operating vehicles and swinging swords. Maybe they had different customs here?

That didn’t make  _ what _ she wanted any more clear. She had never been given a choice and was suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of options. Slowly, she clicked the buttons, watching the screen flick and change. Most of it was nonsense. At least, it was when she had no context. Finally, she stopped on a program with people putting food into their mouths. That seemed interesting. If she would be living here, understanding these things would be necessary.

Blue flinched when Pearl entered the room again with an armful of blankets, form prickling with guilt and anxiety over her choice. But Pearl simply glanced at it and gave Blue a small smile before distributing the blankets.

She draped one over Amethyst and Garnet. Garnet seemed almost awake, frozen in the same position she had been sitting in, but Amethyst was sprawled over her lap, mouth open. She handed another to blue and dropped the last one over Yellow, who was curled up on her side and half under the small table.

With another stretch, she laid down next to Yellow, taking a generous helping of the blanket to cover herself. “Goodnight, Blue.”

“Goodnight, Pearl.” She copied, feeling another swell of pride when Pearl grinned at her. Interacting with humans was rather easy when she pushed past the fear and uncertainty. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here?

Blue looked down at her own blanket for a moment before copying her and bringing it up around her shoulders. The fabric’s gentle weight brought an inexplicable feeling of safety with it, pushing down the remaining fear and anxiety that plagued her. A soft sigh escaped her and she brought her attention back to the screen, hands clutching at the edges of the blanket to keep it secure.

“Today, we’re gonna teach you how to make the best fajitas this side of Empire City!”


	4. Chapter 4

Pearl slowly gained consciousness, keeping her eyes closed. She was content to drift in the space between asleep and awake, enjoying the intense warmth wrapped around her. The quiet babble of the tv reached her ears and soft breathing ruffled the hair at the back of her neck.

Pearl didn’t take Yellow for a cuddler at first, but every time they fell asleep in the same room it seemed that they woke up wrapped around each other. She tried to move, but Yellow clung to her like a koala, arms and legs keeping her trapped on the floor that was growing more and more uncomfortable.

Finally, she cracked her eyes open, squinting at the bright light coming through the window. “Yellow.”

All that got her was a tired mumble and a squeeze.

She shimmied a bit, turning around to face her. Her face was slack and peaceful with sleep, tufts of blonde sticking up at odd angles. It was a shame to she had to wake her. “Yellow, don’t you have work today?”

Yellow’s face contorted into a grumpy frown that had Pearl biting her lip to keep from giggling. She wormed one of her arms free to give her shoulder a gentle shake. “Yellow, you’re going to be late for work.”

That seemed to do the trick. Golden eyes snapped open, blinking rapidly at her before widening. She pulled her arms and legs away. “Sorry-”

“You’re going to be late for work.” Pearl repeated. Yellow could make fun of her strict work ethic all she wanted, but she knew for a fact that Yellow loved her job just as much as she did. At least when she wasn’t late.

Yellow gasped, her eyes flying to the clock. It was nearly 8. With a short shriek, she scrambled to her feet -nearly tipping over the coffee table- and bolted down the hall as if a pack of wild dogs were chasing her.

A low groan came from the couch and Pearl turned to see Amethyst stretch lazily -one foot narrowly missing Blue’s unmoving head- and sit up. “What’s up with Old Yeller?”

“Work.” Pearl sighed, pushing herself to her feet. The floor has not done her body any favors. Her muscles were stiff and it hurt to bend her neck at a certain angle.

“Oh hell, I have to work later too.” Amethyst whined, “Dude, this adult shit _sucks_.”

“You’ve had years to get used to it.” Garnet spoke up, giving Pearl a startle. After years of sleepovers and all nighters, Pearl still couldn’t tell when she was asleep.

Amethyst flopped back into her lap, blowing some of her wild hair out of her eyes. “Doesn’t make it suck any less.”

A small smile pulled at Garnet’s lips as she smoothed Amethyst hair back, planting a kiss on her forehead. “We need to leave soon if you want to get a shower before your shift.”

A crash, followed by a frustrated groan made all but Blue wince.

“I figure we oughta leave before Yellow blows a gasket anyways.”

Pearl gave the two of them a smile as they stood up. “I appreciate you both coming over. I think I needed this.”

“Of course you did, you work too much, P. Take a break every now and then, yeah?”

Pearl flushed at that, but gave her a nod. Amethyst wrapped her thick arms around her and gave her a squeeze, making room for Garnet to do the same.

“Take care of yourself, Pearl.” Garnet said, ruffling Pearl’s messy hair. She turned to Blue. “It was nice meeting you.”

Blue tensed for a moment, as if she wasn’t expecting anyone to notice her. “It was nice meeting you.”

Amethyst held out a fist and -after a small pause- Blue copied her and they bumped fists. With a small smile, Blue held a fist out towards Garnet too, earning another fist bump.

With little more, Garnet and Amethyst were on their way. Pearl whirled to face Blue, a wide smile on her face. “You did so well!”

“I did?” Blue asked, face turning a shade darker as her hands clasped each other.

“Yes,” Pearl said, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder, “I’m surprised you learned so quickly!”

A tiny smile worked it’s way onto Blue’s thin lips. “Thank you.” Just as quickly, it vanished -replaced by a small frown. “But… um…”

“What is it?” Pearl asked, bending down to be eye level with Blue.

“Why did you squeeze each other? Is it like the hand dances?”

Pearl tilted her head, eyebrows knit together. “What are you -Oh! You mean hugs? Well, I suppose they _are_ sort of like shaking hands, but more affectionate.” Had Blue never had a hug before? That thought was surprisingly sad. Pearl didn’t know what she’d do without them.

She didn’t usually go around hugging people she’d only known for a few days, but surely this qualified as an emergency. “Would you… like to try?”

Blue hesitated, mouth quirking, before standing up and nodding. Pearl gave her a reassuring smile and stepped forward to wrap her arms around her waist, squeezing gently. She had expected Blue to be as cold as when they first met, but she radiated heat like a blanket that had just come out of the dryer.

After a moment, Blue’s arms came up to wrap around her. Pearl had intended to show her how good and comforting hugs could be, but was starting to feel rather comforted herself. It seemed Blue had a natural talent.

“Am I doing it right?” She asked quietly.

Pearl had to fight not to rest her head on Blue’s shoulder. “You’re doing perfectly.”

After a moment, Pearl mustered up the willpower to pull herself away. It suddenly felt very cold in the room, but she pushed that observation aside. “How was it?”

“That was… good.Do you do that all the time?”

“Well, not all the time.” She winced as another bang came from Yellow’s room. “Some people don’t like hugs very much, or save hugs for people they know very well.”

Blue’s mouth quirked again and Pearl briefly wished she could see the rest of her face. She couldn’t gain any insight from the hushed monotone of her voice either. It was already hard to decipher how people felt, even harder with Blue.

“How do you know if someone likes hugs?”

Pearl thought for a moment, “I’d advise you ask. Unless you know the person well, asking if you can hug them is always a safe bet.”

Blue nodded and Pearl gave her a smile before Yellow stumbled through the hall, looking like she was attempting to strap on a high heel and walk at the same time.

“Are you going to be late?” Pearl asked, clasping her hands together over her stomach.

“No, no, I can make it if I hurry.”

“You may want to pick up some breakfast on the way.” Pearl advised.

Yellow shook her head, “No time. I’ll get some food at lunch.”

“Food?” Blue’s lips turned up in a smile and she rushed over to Yellow. She held a hand in front of her gem and it emitted a soft glow before a small plate of pancakes materialized. She held them out to Yellow.

Yellow’s eyebrows rose, but she took the plate hesitantly. “So that’s where those went. Um, thank you.”

Blue’s smile grew, her head tilting towards the door. “Are you leaving?”

“Yeah, I have to get to work.”

“Can I hug you?”

Yellow’s eyes grew wide and darted to Pearl -who gave her a smile- before settling back on Blue. “Uh, okay.”

Blue wrapped her arms around her and Yellow’s eyes widened further. Pearl was almost afraid that they’d fall right out of her head. She awkwardly wrapped her free hand around Blue, the other precariously balancing her steaming pancakes.

Finally, Blue released her, leaving Yellow flushed and disoriented. “Um.”

“Get going.” Pearl spoke up, trying to hide her amusement.

“Yes, right. Work. Yeah.” She muttered, looking a bit off balance, despite hurrying out the door.

The door shut and the lock scraped into place and Pearl turned to assess the damage their sleepover had caused, but stopped when Blue spoke up.

“Why didn’t you hug Yellow?” She asked, head cocked. “Isn’t it a parting procedure?”

Pearl winced, looking at the ground. “Well, I forgot to ask the first time… and I guess I’ve been a bit too nervous to ask since.”

Blue gave her a nod, but didn’t ask any further questions -to Pearl’s immense relief. The relief was short lived. Her stomach twisted and growled. Heat rushed to her face as she pressed a hand over her stomach, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. “I guess Yellow wasn’t the only one that needed some food.”

Blue frowned for a moment, but made a small noise and darted over to the couch. Pearl watched curiously as she came back with a wide smile, holding something out.

Pearl took the it cautiously, holding it in her palm. Upon closer inspection, she found that it was a stale, warm potato chip. She glanced up at Blue’s beaming grin, then back down. The obvious thing to do would be to throw it away, but Blue looked so proud of herself. She certainly couldn’t _eat_ it. The very thought made her stomach turn.

Finally, Pearl forced a smile onto her face. “Thank you, Blue. I’ll have to save it for later, but I appreciate it.”

Blue’s smile grew even brighter and Pearl’s heart gave a clumsy flop. It pained her to do so, but she put the chip in her pocket, hoping it didn’t crumble.

“Alright, time to clean up!” She declared, rolling up her sleeves and gazing around the room. Amethyst practically _breathed_ chaos, and Pearl always took it as an excuse to give the apartment a thorough cleaning.

Cleaning seemed to go a lot faster with Blue around. She was there at almost every turn, handing her something she needed or copying her actions. Soon enough, the couch and carpet were free of crumbs, trash thrown away, lingering dishes were washed, and the paintings on the walls were straightened.

Pearl gazed into the fridge, hoping to find something a bit more nutritious than a stale potato chip. It was completely barren. She frowned, checking the cupboards, but all they had was a nearly empty bag of pancake mix. Pearl didn’t think she could stomach anymore pancakes.

It seemed like grocery shopping was on the agenda today. Her stomach gave another twinge. Not before getting some food.

“Would you like to go get breakfast with me? And, if you’re feeling up to it, you can come with me when I go shopping too.”

Blue nodded and Pearl made quick work of getting ready, already halfway out the door before another problem occurred to her. Blue was still wearing the dull grey hospital slippers. “Ah, would you like some shoes?”

Her head tilted slightly, “What is their purpose?”

Pearl pressed her fingers together, “Well, the sidewalks are often dirty and can have things like broken glass or sharp rocks. They keep our feet clean and safe.”

Blue bent slightly, inspecting Pearl’s shoes, before a muted flash of light shone through the socks.

Pearl blinked.

“Um, it’s not… we don’t usually wear them under our socks”

Blue nodded again and carefully pulled the socks off, a small frown on her face. Her shoes were a near perfect copy of Pearl’s flats, the only difference being that they were a deep blue to match the rest of her clothing.

Pearl felt a little smile tug at her lips and she gave Blue a gentle pat on the arm. “Don’t worry. If you like them, you can put them on again when we get back. We can even get you more when we go shopping.”

Blue perked up at that.

Soon enough, she was leading Blue into a small cafe. She always enjoyed coming here when she had the time. They were busy on weekdays, but quiet and cozy on the weekends with the smell of tea and coffee heavy in the air.

Pearl turned to ask Blue what she wanted, but stopped, eyebrows knit together. Hadn’t Blue said that she wasn’t organic? “Do you… need to eat?” She asked carefully.

Blue shook her head.

“Alright, you can pick out a seat while I order.”

Pearl approached the counter, squinting a bit when she saw an employee she didn’t recognize, turned away and refilling the coffee beans. Strange. She thought she knew everyone here by name. Though the dark blue hair was somewhat familiar.

“Hello.”

The woman turned and Pearl’s eyes widened at familiar tired grey eyes. “What can I get for you?”

“Oh, um, the apple-walnut salad and some Earl Grey please.”

“Coming right up.”

“Don’t you work at the hospital?” Pearl asked, hands folded together as she watched the woman brew tea.

She nodded, not looking up from her work. “Sure do.”

Huh. Well, it wasn’t strange to have two jobs in this day and age. Soon, her salad and tea were handed over and she gave a polite ‘thank you’, glancing at her name tag before starting towards her table. ‘Lapis Lazuli’.

Pearl looked around, smiling when she saw Blue seated at a table in the back corner. She sat across from her, setting her food down carefully. As she took the first bite, her brain kicked into overdrive in an effort to come up with something to talk about. Blue didn’t seem like she would be opposed to silence, but it tended to make Pearl a bit antsy.

“What is homeworld like?” She asked, quickly adding, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“It is… not like here.” Blue said slowly, clasping her hands. “It’s much more organized. There isn’t as much… open sky.”

Pearl tried to form an image in her mind, but it was incredibly vague. “Organized?”

“Everything here is... “ Her mouth twisted and pursed as she thought. “Scattered. On Homeworld, everything has a place and a time and a certain way to get there. Here, everything is slightly askew. This table is two degrees off center. The paths your vehicle takes are winding and crooked. The buildings are different heights, different sizes, _different colors_.

Pearl looked down at the table for a moment before forcing her eyes back up to Blue, trying not to think about it being off center. “I understand what you mean, to a lesser extent. It used to bother me far more than it does now. I suppose I just got used to it. Amethyst and I were roommates in college; It would’ve driven me crazy if I hadn’t learned to ignore it.”

She thought for a moment, taking a few more bites of her nearly forgotten salad as she turned a few ideas over in her head. “What are gems like? I assume they’re all inorganic like you, but what is your culture like?”

“It’s the same. We all have a place and a job, and we’re created to do that job.” She paused, mouth twisting again. “What is your job?”

“I’m an aeronautical engineer. I design and build space ships for a small company.” Pearl explained, a smile pulling at her lips.

Blue frowned slightly. “But you are proficient at other things.”

Pearl struggled to put the pieces together, having difficulty with the amount of information she had to process. “Well, humans aren’t really made for anything. We come into this world _unable_ to do anything. We choose what we become proficient at and we choose our own jobs. At least, that’s how it is in this country. There are some where the caste system is still used, but it’s generally considered bad here.”

“Why? How do you choose? Where is your _Diamond_?” She leaned forward, her airy voice becoming a fraction stronger in her curiosity.

“There have been a few wars over that. I suppose we just don’t like being told what to do. We want our destinies to be in our own hands.” Pearl paused, “What is a ‘Diamond’?”

Blue jolted, mouth opening and closing a few times. A shard of worry pierced Pearl’s stomach. She had the urge to reach across the table and lay a comforting hand on Blue’s shoulder, but thought better of it.

“They rule and guide us. We are made for them and they tell us what needs to be done. They tell us what planet needs to be conquered, where we need to focus our studies.” She took a shaky breath, “We are made to love them. They give us purpose.”

Pearl was at a loss. It sounded eerily familiar, something she could sympathize with. “What was your purpose?”

“I am Blue Diamond’s Pearl.” Pearl winced. They’d made her say that phrase quite often. Blue went on, sounding as though she had rehearsed it many times. “I took care of her appointments, attended court hearings and took notes on them, accepted calls, provided entertainment, and much more.”

Pearl hesitated, considering her words carefully. “You… don’t have to do that here. Not if you don’t want to.”

Blue’s head tilted in confusion.

“You can do whatever you want here.” She waved an arm towards the window, “There’s so much to do, you can choose whatever you’d like.”

Blue frowned, hands anxiously fidgeting with each other. “I don’t know how.”

“At first, I didn’t either.” Pearl said, giving her a small smile. “You just have to get out there. Do things, learn more about yourself. It gets easier. What you want to do will become clear, if you give it enough time.”

Blue stared down at the table and Pearl bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t upset her. She picked at her salad, not feeling very hungry anymore.

Blue’s gaze followed her hand and Pearl looked up at her. “I know you don’t need it, but would you like to give it a try?”

After a moment of hesitation, Blue gave her a nod.

Pearl nudged the salad over, a small smile working its way across her face as she watched Blue take a clumsy bite. She sipped her tea as silence fell over them, letting the calm of the cafe lull her into a state of relaxation.

When her cup was empty, she set it on the table. The silence wasn’t so bad this time, but that didn’t stop words from coming to her tongue.

“While I suggest you think about what I said, I won’t push you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, okay?”

When she got no reply, she turned to look at Blue. Concern made a hasty return as she took in the tight frown on her face and the hand gripping her fork so hard that it had bent and left grooves where her fingers were. “What’s wrong? I’m sorry if I said something-”

Blue made a small noise, pressing a hand over her mouth. For a panicky, dread filled second, Pearl thought Blue was about to vomit. Instead, she mumbled, “What do I do with it?”

“E-Excuse me?”

“What do I do with the food.” She asked around a full mouth, voice more panicked this time.

“I- wha- you _swallow_ it.”

“What is that?”

Pearl paled.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr as meislovely. Hope you enjoyed reading.


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